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The hiring of 23-year-old Dieter
Rams, in 1955, had far-reaching im-
plications. Rams started as an inte-
rior designer and soon became the
nucleus of Braun’s own design de-
partment. Gradually, the new design
style spread not only to the entire
product line, but also to all communi-
cations instruments – from stationery
and use instructions all the way to
advertising. This gave Braun a cor-
porate identity long before the term
was even coined.
The new design concept implement-
ed by Dieter Rams and the Braun
design team quickly gained fame;
as early as in the late 1950’s, Braun
products were selected for presti-
gious permanent collections such as
at the MoMa in New York. During this
period, Braun’s traditional strength in
radios, record players and combined
hi fi units continued.
TFG2 (1968)
SK4 (1956)
In the 1990’s two important busi-
ness segments emerged: electrical
oral care and female hair removal. A
unique partnership between Braun
and Oral-B led to the creation of elec-
tric toothbrushes designed by the
Braun design team – a partnership
still successful today within P&G.
Braun also acquired Silk-épil epila-
tors and expanded this into a leading
international brand for female beauty.
Clocks, watches and calculators
were important primarily in the 1980’s
and set new design standards for
clarity and reduction, combined with
innovative technology. During the
1980’s Braun concluded its presence
in the HiFi business with an exclu-
sive ‘Limited edition’ to then focus on
the more lucrative small appliance
sector, in particular personal care
and household products. Shavers
became – and still are today - the
biggest business segment for Braun,
featuring design innovations such as
two-component molding to achieve
soft nubs on a hard housing, for bet-
ter handling.
Today Braun focuses on the four
key segments: male grooming with
Braun Series electric shavers, female
grooming with Silk-épil epilators,
Satin Hair with hair care appliances
and household with Multiquick hand
blenders and other useful kitchen
helpers. The company’s values still
share the original vision of the Braun
brothers: creating products based on
respect for people – employees and
customers – and using design as an
essential medium to achieve this. As
expressed by Braun’s Head of De-
sign Oliver Grabes, Braun’s design
philosophy is based on its rich past
tradition, but it continues to evolve to
meet consumer needs of the future.
1955
1980
2011
1958
1997
ABW30 (1982)
ET66 (1987)
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